Posted on 06/04/2005 2:42:15 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Rock shock: Nation's No. 1 oldies station changes formats
NEW YORK It's the day the music died.
W-C-B-S F-M in New York, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend.
Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys.
Hello, Duran Duran and Jet.
The station had switched to an oldies format in 1972, initially as a bastion for the doo-wop sounds of the '50s. Although the playlist changed over the years, W-C-B-S F-M always remained the outpost for classic Top 40 radio in the nation's largest radio market.
The station's new format is called "Jack," an eclectic mix of hit music from the '70s through the present. The station's owner, Infinity Broadcasting, made the same format shift Friday at its Chicago oldies station, W-J-M-K F-M, where classic Top 40 had aired for the past 21 years.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press.
I'm in my50's. I listen to 50's & 60's music! I have Sirius satellite radio.
"The problem with a lot of oldies stations is that they play the same blasted playlist all the time"
Yup. I find that too.
I used to work at SHE. You have to say it like the sweeper/bumper said it with a screaming crowd "SHE'S ONLY ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" with the crowd screaming after it. Double Shot Tuesdays,Triple Shot Weekend's....oh yes...rock radio is dead in South Florida for good. BIG 106 is just dreadful.
It is auditorium testing,not the radio station's fault. They bring in about 1,500 people and play them 10-20 second samples of songs and people vote on them for a few hours and are paid like 20 bucks for their time.
Whatever the results are of the tests the radio station sets their playlist accordingly. That means deeper cuts ala AOR Rock radio are not going to be picked because instead of radio giving a chance to rock artists they just play it safe and play the hits that the idiotic public chooses...
"oh yeah man i love black dog from zep..im votin for that...oh yeah i love more than a feeling from boston...im votin for that" so when they throw in a mix of songs and people do not recognize the song,they don't vote for it because they have either forgotten what that song was or only have 10-20 seconds to decide.
I was in South Florida about three weeks ago. Fairly decent recent addition to the dial (93.1 I think) but you are correct. Not many choices.
She's only rock and roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllll.
SHE was fantastic!
How many freakin' times do you need to hear 'Rock Around the Clock' in your life?
It's 1690 WRRL-AM, Chicago, IL. Goes by 'Real Oldies.' They are on the Internet at http://www.realoldies1690.com/main.html.
You can listen to this station on the Internet at that URL.
While I've enjoyed a lot of oldies music myself, not to be forgotten on a thread like this is the fact that a lot of the "oldies" stations have created continuing subsidies for Liberal/anti-American musicians/fellow travelers like Springsteen, John Fogerty, WAR, Linda Ronstadt, The Guess Who and many others from around the Vietnam era. A list of last year's anti-Bush "Rock The Vote" participating bands might also be worth mention in this regard.
Those who might consider adding to collections -- even by MP3 files now -- and thus paying royalties, -- or going to concerts by these people -- and paying a minimum fee plus a percentage of the gate -- PLEASE reconsider!
Side note: of the British Invasion of the '60s, how many are outspoken American patriots today? (The Dead Kennedys group doesn't count)
I used to listen to Cousin Brucie. I like oldies. Anything but most modern pop and rap.
Cousin Brucie posted somewhere yesterday that he intends to be back on the air somewhere pretty soon.
Jack replaced the station that had two records. One was Van Halen and the other was Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".
The posters complaining of the change obviously aren't music lovers.
If it's anything like "Jack FM" (100.3) in Dallas - Fort Worth it's probably quite good. Austin's got "Bob FM". It's a strong format and fun to listen to.
I don't channel-surf as much as I used to in the car. They're good.
You are absolutely correct. The percentage of teenagers and twentysomethings that have turned their back on current Top 40 music is higher today than it has ever been since the beginning of rock itself, mainly because today's "popular" music is more homogenized than ever before. You can choose hip-hop or pseudo-punk "alternative" rock, nothing else. And within those two genres, almost every song sounds the same as the one before, which makes it even worse.
What I really can't understand, though, is why Infinity chose CBS-FM for the format switch, when it was their second-highest-rated station in NYC (only 1010 WINS did better in the most recent ratings book). Why didn't they try the Jack format on WNEW-FM, which has been in the ratings toilet for years?
Blurblogger,
MrLee has your answer.
I listen to radio as much as I watch TV.
Nada. None. Zilch. Zip.
AM/FM RIP...
Obviously its all the illegal downloading of oldies that has forced the format change. And people say stealing music does no harm.
Anyone listen to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater back in the day? EG Marshall and later Tammy Grimes as host? A whos who of great voice actors...Fred Gwyn, Mason Adams (the voice on the Smuckers ads) etc
Sounds like it's time for XM Radio?
>>>> Buddy Holly-no way
Buddy Holly yes-way. He's the reason hundreds of people flock to my home town in the middle of winter to remember the anniversary of his last performance.
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